In the New American, Alex Newman discusses the ironic yet predictable development where a brutal dictator, Cuba’s Raul Castro, takes over the leadership of CELAC, an organization supposedly beholden to the principles of democracy and freedom.

Communist Cuban Tyrant Raul Castro to Lead Latin American Bloc

In an ironic but predictable development that has establishment analysts scratching their heads and human-rights organizations up in arms, brutal Communist dictator Raul Castro of Cuba just assumed the rotating presidency of a regional “integration” body that touts itself as being in favor of “democracy.” Upon assuming his new role, the Marxist tyrant, who leads one of the most oppressive regimes in the world and will now be charged with running the supranational CELAC bloc, celebrated what he called “a common vision for the Latin American and Caribbean homeland.”

The controversial regional entity, heavily backed by the Communist Party tyrants ruling over mainland China and other subversive forces, is known officially as the “Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.” It brings together 33 national governments and dictatorships in the Western hemisphere under the pretext of advancing “integration,” “human rights,” and more — the United States and Canada, however, were not invited to participate.

Socialist strongmen responsible for the recently created alliance say it is meant to serve as a sort of counter-balance to U.S. influence in the region. In truth, however, like other similar blocs in the region, it is aimed at advancing the march of tyranny and socialism throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, according to analysts and anti-communist leaders.

Raul’s brother Fidel, who originally foisted authoritarian communist rule on the people of Cuba, played a key role in the now-obvious spread of socialism and communism across Latin America. Working with former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, the Sandinistas, Marxist terror groups such as the FARC in Colombia, and others, Castro helped found the Foro de São Paulo (São Paulo Forum, or FSP), a coalition of communist and socialist forces that now dominates Latin American politics and controls most national governments in the region.

Considering that history, despot Raul Castro’s new-found prominence on the geopolitical stage is hardly a surprise. Despite decades of ruthless barbarity from the Communist Cuban regime — mass murder, failed central planning, political prisoners, persecution, torture, terror, and more — the Cuban tyrant was welcomed with open arms by fellow totalitarian-minded rulers of the region at the CELAC summit in Santiago, Chile, this week.

“Cuba’s assumption of the presidency of the CELAC marks a change of times,” said socialist Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, a member of the FSP whose authoritarian-oriented regime is presiding over the spectacular implosion of Argentina and its once vibrant economy. “For Chilean President Sebastian Pinera to transfer the presidency pro tempore to Castro shows the times we’re living in.”